Professor Fekadu Beyene Aleka holds a PhD in Dairy Technology (Food Sciences and Technology) from Agricultural University of Norway (UMB), Norway (in 1994); MSc in Animal Production (Agriculture) from Alemaya University (in 1987), BSc in Animal Sciences (Agriculture), Addis Ababa University (in 1982). As of October 2018, Professor Fekadu Beyene has been appointed as Commissioner, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Commission (EFCCC) of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE). He had been Minister of the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries from October 2017 to May 2018, and State Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Resources of the FDRE from May to October, 2018. He served in different capacities at Hawassa (Debub) University, as Lecturer, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and Professor of Dairy Sciences, and Dean of Students, Academic Vice-Dean, Academic Programs Officer of the same University (1982 to 2008). Furthermore, he was a founding President of Wollega University, 2009- 2016), and also served as President of Ethiopian Civil Service University (2016). He had worked as editor and reviewer of peer reviewed journals, published more than 50 articles in peer reviewed journals.
He had served as instructor of dairy Sciences, Food Science and Technology, Nutrition, Research Methods and related courses at under graduate and graduate programs, and supervised several MSc and PhD students, and as internal and external examiner of MSc and PhD Thesis of graduate students of many Universities in Ethiopia.
Prof. Fekadu Beyene also served as President of the Consortium of Ethiopian Public Universities (2014 – 2016), and Chairperson of the Consortium of Universities and Colleges in Oromia (CUCO). He was a Visiting Scholar at Langston University, (USA) in 2002/3), and Visiting Scientist at Saskatchewan University (Canada) in 2008). He is a member of professional societies and alumni associations such as ESAP, EBS, UNiStaff, REAL etc. He served as chairperson and member of national steering committees, taskforces, and managing and advisory Boards of Institutes and Universities, and also served as coordinator of national and international bilateral and multilateral projects.